Well, what can I say, this place just ticks all the boxes for me. Vinyl Deptford is tucked away in…read morea quiet side street off busy Deptford High Street, apparently one of the few streets to survive the Great Fire of London a few centuries ago, with an old-fashioned butcher's and pie shop at the corner. The records inside are not quite as old, but you get that lovely record store vibe with people flicking through a great collection of old favourites and random treasures. The walls are given over to artists from time to time, while the basement doubles up as a venue for experimental music and sound art. But you don't even have to be a culture vulture to fall in love with this place, they also make the best smoothies and strong coffee, served alongside the best cakes - and not just any cakes but vegan cakes!! My dream of a gallery/cafe/shop space come true, and well worth the trek across town ...

If you live in West London, a trip to the South London Gallery is a bit of a trek. The directions…read moreon the website say it's a 10 minute walk from Peckham Rye station. That's probably about right, but it felt much further - mind you, a good opportunity to taste a different flavour of London. The current installation by Thomas Hirschorn is well worth the visit, and I'm glad I made it just in time before closing. The book shop and cafe are also very inviting and I am sure to find another excuse soon.

Strange how great things can be right under your nose but you just don't get around to checking…read morethem out as often as you should do. Well for this resident of Nunhead the South London Gallery is a case in point; it's no more than a very leisurely 15 minute stroll from door to door but this Sunday was my first visit in an age. Thanks to some gentle prompting from B we decided to keep it local and take in some culture in Camberwell this weekend so we made our way down the ever busy Peckham Road to check out the Manon de Boer exhibition before it ends on 23 January (just my kind of arty Dutch film offering). This must be one of the most stunning exhibition spaces in the country let alone London. It has had a lot of work done on it in the last year or two, extending the facilities into the once derelict house next door, and there is now some more small scale exhibition space, a fantastic cafe and a beautiful garden which is home to the wonderful Clore Studio. There is also is a shop which sells a great selection of art, film and music books and magazines along with postcards and other interesting bits and pieces. Unlike most of the galleries in town, such as both the Tate and the Tate Modern which can be a nightmare a lot of the time, you will find this is quite a tranquil experience and you are unlikely to need to elbow your way through a crowd or clamber over a buggy to get sight of the work. Exhibitions here are free and there are various talks, live events and general arty "happenings" throughout the year which are either free or very reasonably priced. If you are into contemporary art or just fancy a decent lunch in some lovely surroundings this would be a very fine way to spend an afternoon south of the river. In February there is a retrospective look at the work of Goldsmiths graduates Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard which I would recommend.

ARCH gallery is under a railway station and is in a railway arch…read more The street it is on is not a street, more like a wide alleyway with a few parked cars and bins, but is not smelly or creepy in anyway. The gallery is amongst other arches that have various business's their. You will see the sign ARCH and then you just slide the plastic doors and go in. It is a small space with white walls. On my right was this big purple plain kinda like a skateboard slope on the wall. I was thinking too myself "Is this it? "where is the art? Well I went to the back and the artist was their. The back was like an office and plus where he stored his other artwork. He also had information table with leaflets about the events their and other art galleries around Deptford. Well I asked the artist where the rest of the work is? He goes what do you mean? (its not my fault, I'am a novice in the art world). Well I quickly asked him "what inspired this work? which he explained. ARCH gallery is host to a lot of solo artist and gives them a chance to exhibit their work. They also have selected shows as well. Would I come here again, not really! Not just to see one piece of work.

So i've been around several art stores looking for cold press board. What can I say, i hate canvas,…read morealways have and always will! The hours of this shop isn't great. But it's deptford, not west London. Which is why it's the last place I gone to find my boards. Needless to say, they were fresh out. but it's nice to have someone behind the register know what the hell i'm talking about. They were fresh out. But i've found something similar which will do for a practice run. So for a shop about 1/3rd of the size of the big inner london shops, they actually store more of what I need then the big shops do. And the person behind the counter is an actual artist. Well... I assume he is, he knew what I was talking about. Next month their getting some strange metallic board you can paint on. I'm dying to see what this is!!! Great place! I will certainly return! PS: prices are better than the larger shops!

Really adorable tiny tea and biscuit shop. Great ambiance, super friendly staff, and delicious…read morecakes (vegan options too!) and tea & coffee. It's tiny so seats can be at a premium, but we really enjoyed it.

This adorable little coffee shop is beautifully quirky and everything I was looking for on a Sunday…read moremorning. The arty decor with the decadent red couches and the vinyl records creates a very relaxing atmosphere and the beverages complete the cosy feeling that gets created. The hot drinks are served in pretty vintage looking cups and they taste great. The staff were very friendly as well and happy to help. I enjoyed the general atmosphere inside the shop and I would gladly go back if I'm in the area again.

THIS IS A REVIEW FOR THE GALLERY DURING A JUMBLE SALE…read more phew! But I had to say that. Great sale Great people Good decently priced food and drinks from the gallery itself (and a happy hour later!) Great day out. The third Saturday of every month.

I live right around the corner from this place and work from home, so was excited about a potential…read morenew place to have lunch or potentially sit with a laptop when I need to get away from my desk for a think. As such I've tried it three times... and won't go back. The first time I went the noise of construction was loud enough that it wasn't pleasant enough to stay, so had a beer and left. Didn't hold that against them - they clearly opened unfinished and I figured things would change. The second time I came in, weeks later, a new exhibit was being put up. The music was blasting for the benefit of the arts students putting up the art. I got ignored for quite a while trying to order some soup and wine, and when the wine got to me it tasted like it had come from a many days open bottle. So, fair play. It's a cafe/gallery. Sometimes it will be loud. Back today, ordered a full English, there is AGAIN a new exhibit being put up. So not great. Guy with laptop in corner looking annoyed that you can't really work there. The owner is present and contributing to the general un-niceness of the place by planning something with a colleague at full volume three inches away from me in an empty cafe, stamping on boxes, etc. So fine. Atmosphere isn't great, but I'm here for food. But when the food arrives it's just kind of awful... super low grade sausages that leave slime on your teeth and I left on the plate, a piece of bacon that was all fat and no bacon (seriously, I don't eat low fat, I'm not being picky... there just weren't no bacon), an egg that tasted re-cooked, and a burnt recooked hashbrown that hadn't actually been warmed up. The beans were fine... as beans tend to be. I guess the place is banking on the pizza and beer evening crowd, and it might be a great place for that esp with the arts school nearby. But unfortunately it's not worth going during the daytime and it's a shame they're cutting that segment of the local business out. Hard pressed to figure out a reason to ever go back when you have Cafe 57 (awesome food, slightly but not much higher pricing, great staff, great atmosphere, and a REAL gallery attached and free!) and a couple of local caffs (cheaper, no worse in atmosphere, and better food) nearby. Good luck guys. I'd love to have something successful in that spot as it's good for Camberwell, even if you've lost my business!

Lewisham Art House…read more This venue is a rather basic affair with a rough and ready feel to both the exhibition space and the show I saw which is a shame given that more artists live in the Brockley/New Cross than any other area in London. I did feel it had the potential to give much more than it actually offered and perhaps a different show of work would have involved me more. It does offer a range of courses and workshops including various crafts, life drawing and photography.

If you ever come down around 7pm on a weekday night, you will see some pick up football…read more Get along.

Basing this review on the fireworks display on 5th November. It's so nice, probably one of the best…read moreall round displays as there is music before hand, food and crowd control now with free tickets that you need to book in advance. Definitely less crowded than any other display you'll go to. 15 mins of pretty impressive fireworks. And it's about 5 minutes walk from Canada Water, really accessible.

I absolutely love my painting. The design is beautiful. Thank you so much for creating this for me.read more

From the owner: Art inspired by astronomy, science, nature and the Quran. I am currently accepting painting…read morecommissions.